Statement Before the U. S. Senate Committee on Commerce Subcommittee on Communications.

Rule, Elton H.

The Report to the Surgeon General on Television and Social Behavior appears to establish that televised violence, under certain circumstances, may increase to some degree aggressive behavior in children. This finding represents a substantial advance in our knowledge, and we at American Broadcasting Company (ABC) will manage our program planning accordingly. By this coming fall, ABC will have entirely eliminated from its weekend children's schedule cartoons which depend solely on "action" and are devoid of comedy. Greater emphasis will be placed on prosocial conflict resolution, prime time programs will be more carefully evaluated and balanced, and intensified efforts will be made toward sponsoring original research relating to the effects of televised violence. To underline ABC's concern for the nation's children, it might be helpful to review our accomplishments in the last three years. We have de-emphasized violence in children's programs and made a commitment to improve the quality of children's weekend television. We sponsored the first Children's Programing Workshop, providing a forum for knowledgeable persons to discuss improvement of children's television. We intend to continue our efforts to provide children with exciting, stimulating, interesting, informative, and entertaining programs. (SH)